This one is quite recent but I've been listening to it non-stop since it's been out, I think the original is great too but I prefer the cover: Fever Ray - Stranger than kindness. (Original song: Nick Cave - Stranger than kindness).

Nina Simone's version of Just Like A Woman and I Shall Be Released are far far better than Dylan's versions, in my opinion.

Muse does a good cover of Feeling Good, but they kind of miss the point of the whole song, because their version doesn't actually make me think that they're are feeling good so I don't think theirs better than Nina's version

Joshua Radin's cover of Only you by Yazoo is beautiful.

Controversial choice - Mike Flowers Pop's cover of Wonderwall being superior to the Oasis original. Come to think of it, his version of Don't Cry For Me Argentina was better than Madonna's too.

Band of Horses' cover of The End is Not Near, It's Here by The New Year is better than the original too, in my opinion.

Dream theater does a kickass cover.In particular I like their cover of Lark's Tongue in Aspic (King Crimson, I think)and Tenement Funster/Flick of the Wrist/Lily of the Valley is much better when done by dream theater than it is by Queen.If you haven't yet, listen to the B-side of Black Clouds & Silver Linings, excellent covers all around.

Claim that as a personal belief, but don't say 'widely acknowledged'. Reznor's version is way more pained then Cash's melodic tone in my own opinion, and I know plenty of people who would agree.

Back on subject; I'll have to agree with the Metallica covers in Garage Inc, though I haven't heard most of the originals. Also Dream Theater do a very good job with medleys/covers, check out 'A change of seasons'.

Interesting question: do Apocalyptica's covers of Metallica songs count in this category, or are they too original?

doogly wrote:Oh yea, obviously they wouldn't know Griffiths from Sakurai if I were throwing them at them.

When even the artist himself says the cover surpasses the original, I think you can say it's "widely acknowledged." Widely acknowledged doesn't mean every single person agrees.

He said 'that song isn't mine anymore'. And definitely, Hurt as done by Cash is not Hurt as done by Reznor. But if you look on any site asking the question, and there's no universal opinion. So no, it's not widely acknowledged. They're both good songs, and the cover does do the original more justice then most. But if you're going to claim that it's better, then that's opinion, and I disagree both that it's better and that everyone thinks it is.

doogly wrote:Oh yea, obviously they wouldn't know Griffiths from Sakurai if I were throwing them at them.

"Fortune Teller" by Robert Plant and Allison Kraus is very good. I've never heard the original Benny Spellman version, but I did sort of grow up with the live version by The Who (Live At Leeds) and the contrast between the two versions is amazing.

Speaking of The Who (yeah yeah, I'm being a fanboy), their cover of Mose Allison's "Young Man Blues", once again the version that's on Live At Leeds, is simply awesome (and apparently Mose thinks so too, according to Pete Townshend).

ConMan wrote:Another Dylan one: The Whitlams' version of "Tangled Up in Blue".

Yes!! Their version is awesome. And to be frank, I can't really stand Dylan's voice.

Amnesiasoft wrote:Voltaire's cover of "Caught a Lite Sneeze"

I like both the original and his cover, but I do think it's a really good example of what a cover of a song should be like. It's not completely out of left field, but brings something new and awesome.

On the other hand, I think Tori's cover of Lovesong is better than the Voltaire one. Lovesong, for all that I love the original Cure version, is inherently a bit repetitive and boring. Tori's twist of ...whatever it is she does... makes it a bit less so.

He does not spout ever more, new stupidities. He "diversifies his wrongness portfolio."(My pronouns are She/Her/Hers)

Sandry wrote:I like both the original and his cover, but I do think it's a really good example of what a cover of a song should be like. It's not completely out of left field, but brings something new and awesome.

On the other hand, I think Tori's cover of Lovesong is better than the Voltaire one. Lovesong, for all that I love the original Cure version, is inherently a bit repetitive and boring. Tori's twist of ...whatever it is she does... makes it a bit less so.

To be fair, I just don't like the way she sings... at all. As for Lovesong, I still like Voltaire's better, but hers is still better than the original too. The original just feels, dull and lifeless compared to theirs. Like it's lacking any sort of emotion for the song, whereas Voltaire and Tori's have so much emotion and feeling behind it that it feels more, honest, I guess.

The music in Voltaire's version seems happier whereas The Cure's original sounds... downbeat.To be expected from The Cure, really (and I still like that version) but doesn't carry the feel of the song as well.